J Community Health (2010) 35:384-391 DOI 10.1007/s10900-010-9256-3 ORIGINAL PAPER Community Based Organizations Addressing South Asian American Health Nitasha Chaudhary . Amita Vyas . E. Blaine Parrish Published online: 8 June 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract Addressing the health needs of all Americans is central to the public health agenda in the US. Although some progress has been made in documenting health dis- parities among South Asians living in the US, more attention is needed to fully understand how communities are addressing the health needs of this community. Com- munity Based Organizations (CBOs) play a vital role in strengthening and empowering communities through out- reach and health education. Through research conducted via a web survey and key informant interviews, this study provides a context for understanding how CBOs in the US have begun to address the health of South Asian Ameri- cans. Additionally, recommendations are identified that may help improve the health outcomes of this population. Keywords Community health . Health education . Minority health · Community based organizations · South Asian American health N. Chaudhary (X) 9408 Holbrook Lane, Potomac, MD 20854, USA e-mail: nitasha.chaudhary@gmail.com A. Vyas Department of Prevention & Community Health, The George Washington University, 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037, USA E. B. Parrish Department of Health Policy, The George Washington University, 221 Ross Hall, 2300 I Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA Introduction The South Asian American community in the US is com- prised of individuals who have settled in the US with ancestry from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka [1]. The com- munity includes additional members of the South Asian Diaspora, including past generations of South Asians who originally settled in many areas around the world: the Caribbean (Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago); Africa (Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda); Canada; Europe; and other parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands (Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) [2]. According to the US Census Bureau, "the total popu- lation of the US increased by 13.2% from 1990 to 2000, while the Asian American population has increased by 72%" [3]. South Asian Americans are the third largest Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) group in the US, [4] mainly the result of immigration. The first signif- icant wave of South Asian immigrants arrived in the US in the 1960s to pursue higher education and improved occu- pational status, particularly in the fields of medicine, engineering, and science. South Asian Americans have been viewed as an exceptionally successful immigrant group and are often characterized as the model minority community. This perception that South Asian Americans are "wealthy and healthy" has led to the neglect of the health concerns of both the affluent and low-income seg- ments of the community [4]. Due to the model minority theory, which theorizes that hard work and clean living by the Asian community has made them invulnerable, the needs of the South Asian American community have often been overlooked leading to less